Spring is on its way, and the dark beer season is on its way out. Most beer brewers limit oak chips to flavoring their porters and stouts, but if you were one of “most” you probably wouldn’t be brewing your own!
Oak chips are available year round and can add a whisper to a punch of flavor to any brewed beverage (beer, wine, mead, etc…). Having been using them for hundreds of years, wine makers (and drinkers) are already familiar with the benefits of fermenting with oak, but there is more than one species of oak and more beer brewers than wine vintners.
Oak chips differ in their origin (e.g. American, French, and Hungarian) and toast levels. The most recognizable flavor of oak chips is vanilla, and the lipids, fats, and waxes found in the wood are responsible for the coconut and aromatic wood flavors. Flavor profiles of oak are enhanced during toasting, and the more toasted the oak, the more characteristics unique to that varietal are defined.
American oak chips have an intense oak flavor and much more vanillin and aromatic compounds, as well as low tannin content. This varietal releases aromatics more quickly than other oaks and thus needs less contact with the beverage. It is important to note however, that the immediate oak character is susceptible to fading over time and aging.
French oak chips are softer and have a more well rounded wood character. French oak chips are prized for their sweet spice flavors including cinnamon and allspice and although they have more flavor compounds and tannins, they have a less pronounced “oaky” character. These commonly perceived sweet and delicate flavors are contributed by the interaction of the tannins and liquid they are being aged in. These oak chips are said to develop a better flavor with more nuances over time.
Hungarian oak chips have high amounts of vanillin with notes of roasted coffee and bittersweet chocolate. These chips are also said to have a more pronounced oak flavor than American oak!
Sound tasty? Here’s how to use them:
First, you’ll need to sanitize your chips by steaming or quick boiling. You can also use high percentage alcohol; if you’re interested in bourbon-aged oak flavor try soaking cubes in bourbon or whiskey.
3 Ways to use oak chips:
Secondary Fermentation: Adding oak chips during secondary fermentation is the most common method. The more surface area of wood the more flavor will be released (i.e. a bag of thin oak chips the same weight as a bag of thick oak chips will yield stronger flavor). Wood chips will float (like witches) and it is important to keep wood surface in contact with the beer. A weighted hop bag will do the trick- just remember to sterilize the bag too! Sample the beer every day or two to monitor flavor. Oak aging can take anywhere from a few days to several months depending on oak used and desired flavor level.
Oak Tea: drop chips in enough water to cover and bring to a boil for 10-15 minutes. Once tea is complete, add it a bit at a time to the finished beer until you reach your desired flavor. This is obviously much faster than aging and lets you more closely control the flavor.
Liquor Tea: Add wood to a small amount of liquor (possibly diluted with water) and let sit for at least a week. Mix liquor in with beer in small amounts until you reach your desired flavor. Moderation is key as liquor can easily overpower the flavor of beer or wood chips themselves.
By Alyssa Campo
JuJu Brew says
This is good information. I have some mead broken down into half-gallon jars I am going to play with. I will see how that comes out. Thank you for the good info to get me on my way!
Brandon Colman says
Best luck with your mead! Feel free to call in or order some oak cubes or chips in our web store if you don’t have convenient access to a local brew store!
Nathan Ashcraft says
Is there a recommended chip volume to beer volume? I am looking to experiment with a hazelnut porter in 1/2 gallons but I don’t want to over power it with too many chips. If not, what would be a reasonable amount to start with in 1/2 gallon?
Shahrokh says
Is red oak safe for aging?
I read that red oak is a resinous wood, Is it true?
ashley says
Red oak is safe for aging, but will have a different flavor profile from white oak. One of the reasons white oak is used for barrel aging is that the cellular structure of white oak makes it water-tight, while red oak is porous. This isn’t a concern with using chips, obviously.
T says
Will try soaking the oak chips in bourbon.
Question 1: Do I have to boil chips first, before soaking in alcohol?
Question 2: (In your opinion/experience) Would it be better to add the alcohol after soaking OR add a small number of soaked chips to the secondary for a couple of days? I’m doing a 1 gal batch. If the former (tea), how much “tea” would you recommend adding? If the latter, how many chips would you recommend?
ashley says
Thanks for reading the blog! Here are some answers:
Question 1: I would recommend steaming them if you want to be safe. I would stay away from boiling if you’re going to soak them in Bourbon. You don’t want them to soak up too much water when boiled and then not be able to absorb Bourbon. You can also just soak them in Bourbon for a week or two and that should take care of anything living on the wood.
Question 2: I don’t think one of these methods is better than the other really. They’re just different. The pro’s of adding the liquid are that you can dial it in better, it’s much quicker, and there’s less chance of oxidation from opening the fermentor and sampling. However, the character you’ll be getting is different using that method. That method is basically adding oak flavored bourbon to a beer as opposed to Bourbon flavored oak to the beer. So, quite different in practice. One of them is aging with the wood wherein it is allowed to undergo changes in the beer and impart compounds like vanillin and the other is just efficiently getting the flavor profile you’re looking for into the beverage. I would recommend that you pull a small sample (1-2 oz) from your fermentor and add small amounts of the tea until you get the flavor right and then scale it up. If you add 10 mL of Bourbon/oak tea to 1 oz of beer then you would just scale that up to the 128 oz in 1 gallon and add that volume. There’s no correct amount, it’s all to your tastes. If you end up adding chips to the fermentor then I would go by a weight rather than a number of chips. It’s not uncommon for as little as .5 oz per 5 gallons to be used. So, you could play it safe and try .1 oz in 1 gallon. I recommend playing it safe, too much oak can be weird.